Ins question - home damaged by vehicle

[cas]

You always see pictures of homes getting hit by cars, right? Well I live in one. On Monday morning we had someone run the stopsign in front of our house, go over the curb and go through our front door. He could have knocked! :P

The cops came, the guy blacked out due to some medical conditions (his father and his bosses told us this). I'm saving this tidbit for future use.

Anyway I called our insurance and they said there is nothing they can do, his insurance is supposed to do all of the work. It's been 3 days and his insurance company has yet to send someone out. I did get a neighborhood contractor to seal up the damaged area for us after taking a ton of pictures. Damn nice guy, he did it for free.

Now...who is to be responsible? Should our insurance company at least make an appearance? What is the normal time to get someone out to look at something like this? I called the loss prevention person where he works at and she said she's been trying to get the appraiser out to see us. I'm thinking that they have until noon tommorrow or I'm going to seek outside help.

Outside help. Call the state insurance commissioner and/or a lawyer (if so, what kind of lawyer)? All I want is to get this fixed ASAP.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Possible. Diabetes, lack of sleep, other problems can cause it.

Right, he has the liability.

He should give you a bill and submit it to the insurance. You have an obligation to mitigate further damage even though you did not cause the problem. They should pay for it.

It is not unusual for an appraiser to take a few day or more. We had to make a claim after some flooding last October and the backlog at the time was 4 to 5 weeks. This is not life threatening and they are probably still trying to take care of claims in the South. Lots of claims from the recent flooding in New Englad also.

Welcome to real life. Of course you want it fixed, but it is not going to happen very fast. You may want to call in someone to give you an estimate for the repairs so you have a better feel for actual cost before the settlements you eventualy make. Better to use a contractor you are comfortable with than some low baller that does hack work for the insurance company.

>

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Typically your insurance will work for you even tho his insurance is paying for it. That's the service we expect from our insurer. My son got rear ended waiting for light change at a intersection. My insurance co. took care of everything on behalf of us. If they're not responsive, get your lawyer involved.

[Shopdog]

I agree with Edwin over the insurgents hack job guys, I had a mishap with a car and the insurance wanted THEIR bodyshop to do the work, I said no, and they said they would only pay a percentage of the repair if not done by their shop. RIGHT, I said you had better check the rules on that or would you like me to get my lawyer involved. My body shop had the check within a week. Their body shop would have used junkyard or non factory parts, I wanted my Toyota back to original.

I think you should wait no more then 1 week without a response, then make another call then give another week if nothing then contact YOUR ins agent and have them carry the ball, your paying them to take care of your house!.

Searcher

[Goedjn]

If your insurance company isn't willing to fix your house when someone drives through the front door, and the go after the driver and/or his insurance company to recover the money, then you need a new insurance company.

[Tim G]

I had a similar incident. The other party aka the responsible didn't bother to file a claim with their insurance company. As if they figured hey it might go away.

I called their insurance and filed the claim against their policy and wasn't real friendly while doing it. Within an hour someone contacted me and I had an adjuster out the next day. Go directly to the insurer forget his boss etc. If he was in a company vehicle call the works insurance if his car, call his. Most states also will not cover a personal call on business ie: pizza delivery or like kind work.

Also my agent was helpful in calling them to get their info and also calling their insurance company.

Also get a copy of the police report to use as proof of their responsibility. Whatever you do don't make a big deal out of the medical condition. At least here in ohio say a heart attack or certain other things are considered an act of God and if you read most policies they are excluded.

[m Ransley]

Call his insurance co, call the jerk and get the number, or call the police, its on their record. Its possible he is uninsured. Was he driving a company car, call his boss. I would call your insurance co back and find out what happens if he is uninsured. It does not make any sence for your company to not help, what if he backed out and just drove away, what else does your policy not cover?

[jtees4]

I agree completely...AND you shouldn't even have to make calls etc. to his insurance or anything. It should all be taken care of for you.

[cas]

To followup:

Their appraiser, who is a third party, paid us a visit today. He pointed out a few repairs that I overlooked and was very nice. Told us to get a quote for the work and he'd do the rest.

The person who was organizing all of this called and seemed upset that I was calling her twice a day. I told her that I wasn't upset but wanted an update. Close of business and you've not heard anything? Drop me an email. I told her that email was a good contact means for me since I travel a lot or she could leave me a voice mail at work. Once we clarified this she was fine.

Now to go door shopping. A contractor in town is coming over in the morning to give me a quote on replacing the door. Saw one like ours at Pella that was insulated, which would be very nice.

The state > >

[mm]

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I don't see how he could be liable. The first post says that the OP had him do it.

More below.

Yes, the guy should get paid by the insurance. He saved *them* money and that way he'll have the time to other nice things for free for people in the future.

Not only that, but this is one step he'll have to do anyhow before he can get it fixed. It doesn't require having the money in hand to pick someone to repair it. And some guys are busy. They'll take the job if the customer understands they can't get to it for a week or whatever. Better to get on the waiting list as soon as possible.

>

[mm]

They certainly are. They're required to pay for the repairs to your house. Can they wait a while if the guy's insurer is being diligent? Maybe, but I don't know how long.

Get your new insurance before you cancel your old insurance, as bad as they seem to be. I hear stories about companies not writing new insurance for a variety of reasons. Don't know details.

[jtees4]

As you should. They really could have been more helpful, and from my experiences, most are more helpful than that.

[Kyle]

[snip]

You have two options: spend months fighting with insurance adjustors and the like, or find yourself a reputable lawyer who handles personal injury and property damage cases.

Your state law may not allow you to recover legal fees in the cost of settling your claim against the person who damaged your house; check with the lawyer before you hire them.

My advice: get the outside help. Take it from someone who has been fighting with the Maryland MTA for almost three months since one of their drivers fell asleep at the wheel and destroyed my car when it was parked in front of my house: you don't have the kind of clout lawyers and local/state government officials have.

[trainfan1]

Who could have made an appearance?

The driver's auto insurance company? They are not obligated to pay you anything at all. Anything they pay you for this incident/damage is in lieu of suit. Their only responsibility is to defend their insured. There is no contractual obligation to you.

Your homeowner's insurance company? They should have had an adjuster there THAT DAY to coordinate documentation, temporary enclosure, and mitigation of damages, as well as giving you assistance in presenting them with your claim. They do have a contractual obligation to you... subject to a deductible, of course(which they would then return to you when they have completed subrogation action to recover from the auto company).

I think you misunderstood the "state insurance guys" or they misunderstood you. See above.

Renewal is this fall, I'll be going elsewhere.

This is the part that I don't get, even on named perils policies(most are all risk on building) vehicle damage is covered as a very basic coverage. Did you call your homeowners or auto company? Have you paid your premiums?

Rob

[Edwin Pawlowski]

That only happens in TV commercials. In real life, it can take weeks right now. Adjusters are a scarcity yet with all the disasters in the past year.

[trainfan1]

Actually there are more choices. You can hire your own adjuster, a Public Adjuster, who will get you the maximum amount you are entitled to, for a percentage of the final settlement(usually ~10% - most states the max is 12.5%). Lots cheaper than an attorney, more thorough, most know insurance law, tips, & tricks better too.

Rob

[trainfan1]

I'm available right now! I'm an independent, though. This is the kind of service we provide. Support your independent agents, & mutual insurance companies!

Rob

[George]

Get a bill from him. There is no reason to take advantage of a nice guy. The insurance company is obligated to pay for any work you did to secure the property and prevent further damage.

Could take a week.

[mm]

to you...

This part I've wondered about. How often do they recover from the other side, and then not send the deductible. Do they play buddy-buddy with the other side and recover less than they might? What if one car hits another, and both cars have the same insurance company? Or if one house hits another. :)

The only slightly related experience I have is that my brother sent his old car to my mother, via a drive-away. They made the kid wash the car before he handed it over, and it was January, and he skidded on ice coming out of the carwash (when there was no ice elsewhere). amd while the drive-away's insurance paid for my mother's car to be fixed, they wanted her to sign something so the drive-away company could sue their driver. But they had already kept his 200 dollar deposit, which the driver and my mother was under the impression should cover the driver's cost in the matter. She refused to sign, and that was the end of it.

Wasn't the driver likely to believe that the insurance the company had covered him and not just the drive-away company. Did my mother do the wrong thing?

[trainfan1]

obligation to you...

Heck no, they want every penny back in a case like this. They have expenses to cover well beyond the claim payout.

Rob